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John O'Neill

John O'Neill

The demand for college and university lodging is more stable than the typical lodging demand, and markets dominated by a college are more stable in terms of not only occupancy rates, but also average room rates, according to Penn State researchers.

Jim Abrahamson, chief executive officer for Interstate Hotels & Resorts, has been named the 2013 Hospitality Executive of the Year by the Penn State Hotel & Restaurant Society (PSHRS). Abrahamson will receive the award during the 52nd Hospitality Executive of the Year Award reception, which will take place Nov. 10, in conjunction with the annual International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show in New York. As part of the honor, Abrahamson also will be inducted into the Penn State Hospitality Hall of Fame, located at The Nittany Lion Inn on Penn State’s University Park campus.

John O'Neill, associate professor of hospitality management and his former doctoral student Qu Xiao '07 Ph.D HRIM, assistant professor, School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, recently received the Article of the Year Award 2010 from the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management. The article is titled "Work-family balance as a potential strategic advantage: A hotel general manager perspective."

Students in one hotel, restaurant, and institutional management course get a sneak peak at some of the complex decisions they'll have to make as future hotel managers. In the course, HRIM 480: Advanced Hotel Management, students assume the role of manager through a computer simulation known as Hotel Operational Training Simulation (HOTS).